1. Field
Apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to an in-wheel driving device, and more particularly, to an in-wheel driving device providing easy access for repairing a motor therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hybrid cars, fuel cell cars, and electric cars have been developed to replace general cars operating on gasoline or diesel fuel. The hybrid cars use power generated by an internal combustion engine as well as power generated by an electric motor, whereas the electric cars use only power generated by an electric motor driven by electrical energy produced by a battery, and the fuel cell cars use only power generated by an electric motor driven by electrical energy generated from hydrogen.
An in-wheel system is a system wherein driving power of each wheel of a car is directly controlled via an electric motor that is provided in the wheel, instead of using a conventional internal combustion engine or the like that is provided in the car. Such in-wheel system is used in cars using an electric motor as a driving source of a wheel, such as hybrid cars, fuel cell cars, and electric cars. Specifically, the in-wheel system may be manufactured in a form of an in-wheel driving device.
Due to use of an in-wheel driving device, a car design method and an assembly line must be changed. In other words, when the in-wheel driving device is employed, the shapes and functions of not only an engine room but also parts around the engine, such as sub-frames supporting the engine and a car body, may be largely changed. Also, an in-wheel module to be provided in the wheel may be modified to have an output required by a consumer via demonstration on a car sub-assembly line. Accordingly, an engine driving system that is a core technology of a car may be manufactured separately from the car and assembled on the car through the in-wheel module. Thus, from the car manufacturers' perspective, the development costs may be reduced and development risks may be distributed by cooperating with part suppliers based on overall car target performance and a design of cars.
In-wheel driving devices of various structures have been disclosed. For example, in-wheel driving devices are disclosed in JP 2007-253686 (title of the invention: In-wheel Motor Structure, Applicant: Mitsubishi Motors Corp) or KR 2009-0057652 (title of the invention: In-wheel Type Driving Device, Applicant: Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd).
In an in-wheel driving device of the related art, a decelerator and a motor are provided inside a wheel, and the motor is provided between the decelerator and the car. Accordingly, when the motor breaks down, the whole in-wheel driving device should be separated from the car or the decelerator should be separated from the car in order to replace or repair the motor. Thus, there is a need for an in-wheel driving device that allows easy access to a motor therein to repair or replace it.